Community Education Group is dedicated to advancing the concerns of communities most affected and infected by HIV/AIDS and other health and community related disparities. CEG understands that advocacy and program development for such issues must include continues assessments of relevant issues that speak to the concerns of our constituents. It is with this understanding, that the CEG community-based research program has been developed.
The importance of community-based research has been long recognized. It is an integral component of program and policy development as well as advocacy. It incorporates the analytical skills found in traditional research institutions such as universities, large government agencies such as the National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and various think tanks, but approaches health issues from the perspective of those most affected – the community. It incorporates the needs and concerns of populations targeted by programs and advocacy through a continuous system of inputs (e.g. community advisory boards, surveys, intercept interviews, etc.) in the development of research issues and the tools to assess community opinion on various topics.
The research agenda of CEG is expansive. Our interest include continuous assessments of topics such as HIV risk taking behaviors, knowledge assessments on topics such as HIV prevention, HIV vaccines and microbicides, clinical trials, and assessments of facilitators/barriers to HIV prevention behaviors, treatment adherence, clinical trial participation, and many other topics as dictated by our advisory boards and constituents. Further, our research program and questions are concerned with identifying the specific needs of communities with unique concerns such as ex-offenders and their social networks, substance abusers, youth and other high risk communities.
Our goal is to ask critical health related questions of the communities that we represent in a manner that is culturally consistent and most reflective of the concerns and needs as expressed by the community. Once assessed, data is then synthesized and used to inform the development of new and innovative programs, to develop appropriate presentations and publications for academic, government and funding audiences, and most importantly – used to inform the direction of advocacy at the policy and funding levels.
Examples of CEG research projects:
The Exchange Coalition – Identifying and Addressing Structural Factors Affecting HIV Prevention in African American Women on a National Basis - In 2004, CEG conducted a brief intercept survey of social service providers, advocates, community members, and health care providers attending three conferences. The goal of the survey was to assess the opinions of participants on the top issues affecting rates of HIV/AIDS among African American women and participant’s interest in forming a coalition to address these issues with organizations with differing focus.
African American Participation in HIV Preventive Clinical Trial – A Preliminary Examination of Willingness to Participate in HIV Vaccine Clinical Trials and the Impact of HIV Vaccine and Other Clinical Trial Knowledge on Willingness – In 2003, CEG was awarded a three year cooperative agreement through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to conduct a study in the District of Columbia. The goal of the study was to assess willingness of African Americans to participate in HIV preventive vaccine clinical trials, and to assess the facilitators and barriers to participation of African Americans.
Assessing behavioral HIV risk factors among black women who report recent sex partners with a history of incarceration: Implications for targeted HIV prevention interventions – Using risk assessment data gather from the CDC: Minority AIDS Research Initiative, CEG conducted a comparison analysis of female study participates who reported having a sexual partner in the past year with a history of incarceration versus those not reporting such partnerships. The goal of the analysis was to assess if there were differences in risk taking behaviors between the two female groups of interest, with the goal of advocating for increased research and programming specific to this population of women.
Intimate Partner Violence and HIV: A Community Service Provider Perspective – In 2006, CEG was funded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services: Office on Public Health and Science, to conduct a Rapid Assessment, Research and Evaluation study in a select area in the District of Columbia. The goal of the 90 day project was to design and assess service provider and community member’s perceptions of the current state of HIV/AIDS, intimate partner violence and the intersection of these two issues in a select area in the District.
